


Spread Before Your Eyes is the Ivory Milky Way

by Feline_Acrobat



Series: We Can Walk Forward Without Fear, You and I (BTXT College AU) [4]
Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - High School, Best Friends Choi Beomgyu & Choi Soobin, Best Friends Choi Beomgyu & Choi Yeonjun, Best Friends Choi Beomgyu & Huening Kai, Best Friends Huening Kai & Choi Yeonjun, Best Friends Huening Kai & Kang Taehyun, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Kang Taehyun is Bad at Feelings, M/M, Oblivious Choi Beomgyu, Prequel, Protective Choi Beomgyu, Sweet Kim Seokjin | Jin, Sweetheart Choi Beomgyu, Whipped Choi Beomgyu, Whipped Kang Taehyun, beomgyu and soobin are sophomores, beomgyu and yeonjun hate student council, beomgyu kook and hobi are all still not on good terms w each other, beomgyu makes an exception for soobin as his best friend and taehyun cuz hes cute, beomgyu thinks hes straight, beomgyus parents arent fantastic to him, but that doesnt last long, but the last bit skips a month and a half, he loves all his boys so much even if every last one of them are oblivious idiots, hes sorely mistaken, hobi is a good brother i swear, hyuka and taehyun are freshmen, i love beomgyu ok shut up, jin is everyones older brother he has adopted all of them, most of this happens in the same like week, pre taegyu, rioting for junning best friend rights, soobin and taehyun run student council, soobin is starry eyed for the hot rebel senior, soobin nd taehyun hate yeonjun, they didnt listen when told not to pick favorites, this is before any healing so like, why is that not a common tag, yeonjun is a senior, yeonjun thinks that adorable, yeonjuns just a little shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-15 13:06:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29933853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Feline_Acrobat/pseuds/Feline_Acrobat
Summary: Prequel to everything else in the series aha. How TXT meets, and how Beomgyu falls in love.Hyuka really wanted all his friends to meet. He wasn't ready for the hostility.
Relationships: Choi Beomgyu/Kang Taehyun, Choi Soobin/Choi Yeonjun
Series: We Can Walk Forward Without Fear, You and I (BTXT College AU) [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2147877
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have a list of all 12 boys and their relationships, who grew up with who, and who met later on. I refused to let that go to waste. Beomgyu Hyuka and Yeonjun all grew up together, as well as Hyuka and Tyun, and Gyu and Soob. So this is how the rest of them finally met for real. The freshies are 15, the softies are 16, and Jun is 19. This is 3rd person but mostly from Beomgyu's perspective and he has adhd so sometimes the narration goes on tangents that don't get resolved. This was very fun to write, I hope you like it!

It was halfway through the first semester of high school when Beomgyu and Kai finally planned to have their friend group meet. Kai had been so utterly excited with high school that he kept finding ways to be busy until the charm wore off. He had been part of the student council for a few weeks before dropping it, he tried sports, but he hadn't really found his spot yet. Beomgyu kept telling him not to give up, so he didn't, but it was Monday and he really wanted his friends to meet so he finally put it all together. He set up a meet up at the shopping center across from the high school for Monday. Beomgyu agreed, inviting Soobin along.

When Monday arrived, Beomgyu was sat cross legged inside a Mcdonalds, waiting patiently for the food to arrive. He had a DumDum in his mouth as he looked idly at his phone. He smiled at a text from Soobin, stating the boy got wrapped up in cleaning up stuff from spirit week, and would be there soon. He got another text from Yeonjun saying he got detention after class and wouldn't be there for a good 20 minutes. He shot back that he could just dip, since he had no problem ditching classes to bug him. Yeonjun sent back an eye roll emoji.

He looked up when he heard a noise, smiling at Hyuka who smiled back, his face covered in paint. It was superhero day, which Beomgyu thought was dumb, and he had tried to convince Soobin to change it, but Soobin kept saying that just cuz he was the president of the club didn't mean he could completely override what the rest of the group voted for. Beomgyu thought it was dumb that he couldn't Samuel L Jackson his way through, I know the council has made a decision, but its a stupid ass decision so I’m ignoring it. 

“Hiya Gyu!”

“Ciao Ning”

“Wasn't today fun?”

“If you mean missing my math class for an assembly, then yeah. If you mean the spirit day as a whole? Not a fan. And I had to wear the stupid outfit cuz coach demanded we participate”

“You look great shut up!”

Beomgyu never thought he could disagree more. He wasn't even a hero, he was dressed as a villain to make student council mad. He was wearing a pretty decent almost cosplay of Loki, and he thought it was a great fuck you to the obnoxious part of student council, but he got compliments on it, he got pulled out of class for pictures for the yearbook, and he hated it. Every time he tried to piss off the student council they cheered for him and it was getting on his nerves.

“I do, you're right, apparently that's the problem. Ugh I’m so sick of student council, Soobinnies the only one that's sane in there”

“You haven't met Taehyunnie yet. You'll like him a lot”

“Yeah I’m sure I will”

“He's pretty shy at first but he warms up fast”

“I feel like maybe the fact that both our president and vice president are shy introverts might be a bad sign”

The two laugh at that as someone walks over to them. He doesn't even look Beomgyu’s way before setting his bag down next to Hyuka. Beomgyu however has his eyes glued to him.

The boy is rather short, his short hair bleached blonde, with blue hair chalk in it. He carries himself proudly, back straight shoulders back as he stands. His bag is a simple yellow color, it has a few doodles on it, some of which he can tell are from Hyuka. The boy is wearing bright blue leggings and a matching muscle tee. The shirt had a hand drawn superman logo on it, and it was drawn well, Beomgyu was impressed, but he was more impressed by the toned abs the boy had on show through the thin material. The boy's hair was slicked back but then a hand went through it and it fell out of place. The boy had a full on red cape on as well, also with a hand drawn superman logo. He was mesmerized by the boy who he had only seen from a distance until today.

It was even more mesmerizing when the boy suddenly slumped, digging through his bag. He pulled out a deep maroon sweater that looked at least 5 sizes too big for him, washed out jeans and a glasses case. He ran his hand through his hair again, purposely messing up whatever product was holding it in place. He tugged on the jeans over the leggings he was wearing and the sweater over his head. He was right, the thing came to his knees and draped off his shoulders. He then opened the glasses case and slipped on the yellow frames before finally sitting down, hand back in his hair.

“I swear to god I’m at the end of my wits with this spirit week, it’s literally the first day of my first spirit week and I would already like to throw this entire fucking school into the ocean. Atlantis needs a new school don't you think? The entirety of the junior and senior classes demanded superheroes, why superheroes? It has no relevance to anything, they just insisted ugh they're so fucking annoying! And then! The fucking seniors gave me shit about wearing my glasses while in a superman costume like, dont you people have anything better to do??? It's a damn good thing I got excused from all my classes, I can't exactly see without these. If I had to spend another minute with the dimwits I might’ve thrown myself off a bridge. Fuck I still have the fucking makeup on ughhhhhhhhh”

The boy rolls his eyes through his huge frames and digs in his bag for his phone and makeup wipes. Beomgyu continues to eye him.

“Didn't expect the vp would be so foul mouthed”

“Do not perceive me I am not able to handle being perceived right now”

The boy looks through the camera on his phone and wipes off all the face paint before settling his glasses back into place and finally, finally looking at Beomgyu. And fuck, his eyes are beautiful. He folds his hands together under his chin.

“Ok yes hello perceive me, what was that you said?”

Beomgyu laughs at that. He laughs really hard, and it doesn't help that the boy's smile turns into a smirk and his eyes fill with sparkles.

“I said that I didn't expect the vp would be so foul mouthed”

“Ah yes that. Did you know cursing is a sign of intelligence? It shows a fluency in language”

The boy moved one of his hands to his glasses, pushing them up, before leaning back in his seat and crossing his legs. Beomgyu watches his every move with intent.

“Huh. my brother would not tolerate me swearing”

“Fuck him, he can’t control you. Live a little, swearing's fun”

“Is that so? Where'd you pick it up?”

“My brother. Learned from the best. If you think I swear bad you should hear him, every other fucking word”

The two looked at each other more. Taehyun's eyes held a challenge. And Beomgyu never backed down. Taehyun was leaning back in his seat, looking small and cute, but Beomgyu could see on his face how he was far more than he seemed. It excited him. Hyuka laughed and both boys turned away from their game to look at him.

“See I knew you two would hit it off! Gyu hyungie, this Tyun, Tyunnie this is Gyu!”

They looked back at each other.

“You know, Hyuka said you were shy”

“I usually am. You're lucky I didn't recognize there was anyone else here until you said something, otherwise you would not have been privy to my whole… whatever the fuck you want to call it. I am unfortunately rather fucking blind without my glasses”

“And you noticed Hyuka?”

“He radiates rainbows and sunshine, he's not hard to pick out in a crowd, I've known him since before he could walk”

“Fair. same here”

“You look familiar. And I swear your name is too”

“Captain of the basketball team”

“Ahhh that's right. You're the one that everyone in stuco either loves or hates”

“Am I that well known?”

“I hear you're an obnoxious troublemaker who gets away with everything”

“Yeah that's me”

“I'm the reason your little pranks like this never work”

Taehyun gestures at his outfit with a shit eating grin.

“What?”

“The president has a bit of a problem staying quiet about you, there's a reason stuco didn't yell at you and yearbook kept pulling you aside for pictures”

“Wh- why?”

“Chaos is entertaining. I thought it was cute you kept trying to piss us off and I thought it was funnier if you didn't get the reaction you wanted”

“That sounds like a challenge Taehyun”

“And if it is?”

Beomgyus eyes fill with mischief and Hyuka's about to separate them when someone else rushes to the table. Hyuka recognizes him as the president of stuco, the Soobin that Beomgyu is friends with.

“I'm sorry I'm so late, the seniors decided it would be a great idea to throw a box of glitter onto the floor and I had to stay and help clean it up”

“The seniors need to get their shit together god damn, stop making it everyone else's problem”

Soobin looked up at Taehyun and his smile relaxed some.

“Thank god, when you said your friends friend was in stuco I was terrified”

“Nope, just little old me”

“I don't think I have ever been happier to see you, and that's saying something because you are the only person keeping me from punching the principal sometimes”

Taehyun laughs at that, loudly, and Beomgyu is still hyper fixated on him.

“Oh my Mr President of the student council wants to punch the principal? Jesus, get in line I’m so fucking done with him”

Soobin laughs back. At this point, finally the god damn order Beomgyu placed what feels like an hour ago arrives. The four start digging in and that's when Yeonjun makes his appearance.

Yeonjun was wearing a grey v neck t-shirt, a leather jacket, ripped black jeans, a black beret, big black platform boots, and a choker with chains in the front. His hair was black and fell in his eyes and both Soobin and Taehyun stared in a mixture of horror and fear as he walked over to the table, plopping himself down on the middle chair by Beomgyu and Hyuka. They shared a look at each other before speaking in unison.

“You have got to be kidding me”

Beomgyu and Yeonjun did a handshake, and Yeonjun ruffled Hyukas hair gently with a smile. Hyuka smiles back and goes to introduce him.

“Taehyunnie, Soobinnie hyung, this is-”

“Choi Yeonjun”

“A living nightmare”

Hyuka and Beomgyu share glances at each other, at Soobin and Taehyun’s awestruck horror filled faces, and the smirk on Yeonjun’s face, his arms curled up behind his head. He throws up a peace sign at them, his smirk only widens.

“Yes its me, the man, the myth, the legend, hold your applause, please”

“God you're obnoxious. Hyuka why are your friends so obnoxious?”

Taehyun groans it out, clearly already done with him. Soobin however, shrieks.

“Youre the shit head who threw glitter all over the fucking gym floor!”

Hyuka and Beomgyu both go and slap Yeonjun’s arms, a small peeved face appearing on their faces. He laughs.

“What? I told you I landed detention already, sides, it's a fun harmless prank”

“One that I had to spend 20 minutes cleaning up!”

“Why don't you make the freshies do it hm? They've got so much excess energy anyways”

Hyuka slaps him again, and places a hand on Tyun’s shoulder so he doesn't kill the older. Taehyun was fuming. Soobin was trying to keep calm.

“It's not my fault the principal tried to make me help, I got better shit to do then help out stuco kids. There's enough of them to make quick work of it if they actually did anything. But you two are the only ones that ever do anything and that's not my problem”

Tyun and Soobin sort of deflate a bit. They look at each other before looking back at him.

“The fuck’s that supposed to mean?”

“Simple. The only people in stuco who do anything ever is the president and vp, it's been that way here for years. My brother always bitched about how he and his boyfriend were the only ones to do anything for stuco, the rest of them just sat around and voted on shit and had something to write on resumes without doing anything. It's why I told Hyuka it wasn't worth his time”

The other two deflated completely at that. Just turned back to their food. Yeonjun didn't miss that they both kept peeking back at him, especially Soobin, but he decided to change the topic, grabbing his burger.

“So how do you like my superhero outfit?”

Beomgyu scoffed, and Hyuka laughed. Soobin and Taehyun eyed him even more.

“What are you supposed to be? Captain emo?”

“Gasp! You're all such uncultured children! Do you really not know who I’m dressed as?”

Hyuka looks at him, a smile on his face accompanied by an incredulous expression.

“You're serious Junnie?”

“Deadly!!! I'm Spider Noir! Cmon! I can't with you guys!”

Yeonjun pulls a mask out of his bag and tugs it on. It is in fact a black and white Spiderman mask that ties the rest of his outfit together. Soobin and Taehyun eye him more, and Tyun laughs.

“What's so funny?”

“I underestimated just how nerdy our seniors are, it makes sense that they all demanded superheroes”

“Why do none of You like superheroes? Hm?”

“They’re overdone. Besides I don't really have time to do anything other than school stuff”

“That’s fucking boring man, live a little”

Beomgyu blinks, almost laughs at the irony and turns to the blonde’s now cherry red face. He finds it cute, he isn't going to dwell on that. Taehyun fusses with his straw, not making eye contact with anyone.

“What, your idea of living is watching movies, reading comic books, and causing trouble?”

“... yeah that would be. Exactly it. See, you're learning already, kid!”

“If you call me kid one more fucking time I will end you”

“I'd like to see you try short stuff”

“Please don't murder him Tyunnie he knows not what he’s doing”

Yeonjun balks out a laugh at Hyuka’s concerned voice, Tyun is barely holding himself back from leaping over the table. Beomgyu looks between the two and honestly can't say he wouldn't be interested in seeing Taehyun, soft, tiny Taehyun, beat the ever loving shit out of his idiot hyung.

“Yeonjun I really wouldn't test him if I were you, his abs could break your spine in half”

Taehyuns demeanor changes immediately from fuming to embarrassed, and he throws an empty food container at Beomgyu before sitting down and avoiding people's gazes again. Beomgyu can't keep his eyes off him, his cheeks and the tips of his ears a cute cherry red.

“God you're fucking adorable the fuck?”

Taehyun's head whips to Beomgyu at that. Beomgyu is just smiling at him, leaning on one of his hands. It's probably the first time he's cursed out loud since he first learned the words and his brother instilled the fear of god in him. He knows that's part of what's throwing Taehyun off, but the complement didn't hurt. Taehyuns whole face turns red and suddenly the confrontational boy is silent, looking down at his sweater paws as his flush travels down his neck. Hyuka throws an empty container at Beomgyu.

“You broke him!!!”

“Well now we’re even for him ruining my plans of delinquency”

Hyuka tries and fails to smother a laugh at that. Taehyun pouts, glaring at Beomgyu, but there's no bite to it, not like the glare he had sent Yeonjun’s way. He thought it was cute. He thought Taehyun was cute.

“Aaaaanyways, maybe we can all start getting to know each other better!!! Maybe with less threats of violence?”

Taehyun, Soobin, and Yeonjun seem to have a silent conversation, before nodding. Hyuka claps excitedly.

“Oh oh I’ll start! Soobinnie hyung what do you do for fun?”

Soobin sort of stares at Hyuka, but Beomgyu catches a split second peek towards Yeonjun. He notices a lot. After a moment Soobin stutters out a response.

“I uh, I like playing video games?”

“Oh me too what kinds?”

“I like all kinds um, but I'm best at competitive strategy games. I also really like fps games but that's cuz me and Beommie play those a lot”

“Oh fun! I like casual one person games like Pokemon personally! Ok you ask something to someone now!”

Soobin stares more at Hyuka before turning hesitantly towards Yeonjun.

“Um, whats, uh,”

Beomgyu puts his hand on Soobin’s leg, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

“Do you have any hobbies?”

Yeonjun smiles, and Beomgyu notices that Soobins leg starts bouncing.

“I do! Ok next question-”

Hyuka and Beomgyu both smack him and he laughs again, god Beogmyu swears he's never heard Yeonjun laugh this much since he came out to them a few years ago. He only gets this giggly when he's nervous. Ah. So that's what's going on.

“K fine, I like dancing and cooking”

Beomgyu nudges him slightly and Yeonjun’s eyes zone in on him as he reluctantly continues.

“I also really like fucking around with makeup”

Soobin perks up noticeably at that, and Beomgyu smiles at his friend.

“Oh really? I um, I like painting nails aha, it’s um, really relaxing, for me”

“That so? I’ll have to keep that in mind, haven't gotten my nails done in ages”

And Soobin and Yeonjun share a look across the table and Beomgyu can tell where this is headed. He figures they'd be cute together wouldn't they? He wonders how it would look if Yeonjun did Soobin’s makeup for a spirit day instead of him, Beomgyu always ended up being the one to help him with his makeup, but Beomgyu had shaky hands.

“Ok my turn, Taehyun, you gotta do something other than schoolwork, c'mon spill”

Taehyun glared at him. Beomgyu watched the glare turn from an act to real and threatening, Beomgyu almost wanted to do something dumb to intervene.

“Music. And poetry and shit but just, I like making music and listening to music”

“Huh. thats less boring than I expected”

Hyuka has to hold Taehyun down again and Beomgyu shoots a look at Yeonjun.

“You know that just cuz you're nervous doesn't mean you have to be a complete dick right? You don't have to pretend to be Mr. bad boy whatever the hell this is, I have a feeling they'd like you just as much as me and Ning do if you stopped antagonizing them”

Yeonjun’s head whips to Beomgyu with wide eyes. Beomgyu just looks back at him. Yeonjun seems to choose his next words carefully. 

“I'm not nervous. I'm having a great time doing what I'm doing and I don't need your sass kid”

Hyuka looks between them anxiously.

“Yeonjun lying is bad. C'mon stop acting like you're hot shit”

“Beomgyu this is not the time”

“Oh but it is. Stop trying to get Taehyun to kill you, even if it would be entertaining”

Yeonjun glares at him more before muttering something under his breath and grabbing his drink, his turn to avoid Beomgyu’s eyes. Hyuka looks at the rest of them, Yeonjun small in his seat avoiding Beomgyu’s eyes, Taehyun who is torn between glaring at Yeonjun and staring at Beomgyu, Soobin who is transfixed on Yeonjun, and Beomgyu, who seems a little over this.

“Um. maybe we should cut this short? Maybe try again when Yeonjun hasn't just done something to piss you guys off? I think me and Junnie should get going”

Beomgyu nods, Yeonjun stands as he says it, fishing his keys out of his pocket, grabbing his bag, and walking out without so much as a bye. Beomgyu watches as his form retreats and sighs. Hyuka looks back at Yeonjun and then to Beomgyu.

“I’ll talk to him. There's gotta be something going on he's not. Like this normally”

“He's not. Regardless. Get home safe, Ning, talk to you later”

“Mmm. could you and Soobin hyung make sure Tyun gets home safe as well?”

“Yeah no problem Ning”

Hyuka smiles before grabbing his bag and running out to catch Jun. Beomgyu leans back in his chair looking back at Taehyun who is looking back at him.

“I dont need help getting home, NingNing thinks I'm a fucking child, I can get home just fine”

“You know, I believe you, but that's my baby bro Ning and if he asks me to make sure you get home safe I'm going to do that. Sorry dude you're shit out of luck”

Taehyun glared at him again, and he looked like a kitten. He wanted to reach out and pet him. Taehyun realized quickly that there was no heat in his gaze and sulked, crossed his arms, slouched and pushed his glasses further up his nose. Soobin shifts idly before grabbing his drink and standing, looking at his phone.

“Heck, hyung needs me at home, do you want me to take Taehyunnie on my way?”

“Nah I've got him”

“Okay… don't kill each other”

“No promises”

Beomgyu tilts his head slightly towards Soobin with a shit eating grin. Soobin rolls his eyes at him, waves bye to Taehyun and leaves. Beomgyu then turns to Taehyun who still has a flush on his cheeks and a pout, and is staring at him intently.

“Stop pouting you'll get stuck that way”

“Shut up”

“I'm the wrong person to tell that to”

“Whatever, can we just go?”

“Sure princess, let me get changed”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> taegyu bonding timeeeee

Beomgyu laughs when Taehyun’s blush gets brighter. He stands up, grabbing his bag, going to change into sweatpants, a tank top, and a hoodie, before leading the way out, making sure the younger boy is following. He leads them to his truck that sticks out brightly in the parking lot of the school.

His truck is worn down and old, a hand me down from his brothers before him. Its silver, and where the paint chipped it was replaced with bright yellow. It had sunflower stickers everywhere, but part of the silver was painted over in blacks and purples. The hood of it was where Beomgyu decorated, he had painted a forest on the hood, with animals hidden throughout, it's one of the things he's proudest of. He unlocks it and motions for Taehyun to get in.

“This is an… interesting truck”

“Hand me down. I am, unfortunately, the youngest of three, so most my stuff is from them”

“Ah. they did all the designs?”

“Pretty much. My oldest brother is sunshine and rainbows and my other one is an emo wreck, so when he got it, he made some renovations”

“I see”

“Do you actually want to go home?”

“... not particularly. Why?”

“Let's go for a drive then”

“... ok”

Beomgyu grinned and pulled out of the parking lot, heading in a random direction. He hooked up the aux cord and handed the end to Taehyun. He saw out of the corner of his eyes that he was staring, so he shook it a bit to get his attention back.

“You said you like music, play something”

He felt Taehyun take the cord and smiled as he continued off in the direction of the movie theater. He watched, safely, as Taehyun plugged his phone in, and searched for something. A melody pushes through the stereo, and Beomgyu smiles at the fun tune.

“It feels like everyone's happy but me, It hurts more when I smile than when I cry”

Taehyun is humming along, and it takes Beomgyu a few seconds to recognize that Taehyun is the one singing in the song. He looks over to Taehyun and finds him looking right back. He smiles, and he's delighted to see Taehyun smile back. He's disappointed when he has to turn back to the road, cuz he can still see his smile and his head bopping along to the song through the corner of his eye. He waits until the song ends and Taehyun picks his phone up again to speak.

“That was really good, you've surprised me again, really wasn't expecting escapism from you”

“I am, in fact, not simply a book worm”

“That's not why I was surprised”

“What?”

“You just. Seem very confident and sure of yourself and where you want to go with life and stuff. Didn't think someone like you would have such a… I don't know, a floaty song running around. Magic and running away from loneliness and all that I guess”

“Mmm. most of my life I've been on my own. I only met Hyuka 6 or 7 years ago, and that's when my dad started dating my stepmom, and I had an older brother all of a sudden too. Before that I spent a lot of time alone so I've always sorta just. I dunno, its stupid, but for the longest time I just wanted get stolen away to a magical place where I wouldnt be alone anymore. God this is so stupid! Ignore me, please, god, I just met you, I’m so fucking-”

Beomgyu places his hand on Taehyun's shoulder. He shivers lightly and stops speaking. Beomgyu peeks at him and he's staring at him still.

“It’s not stupid. It really isn't. This is a judgement free zone who cares if we just met”

“I haven't even told Ning about this, I'm sorry I shouldn't have-”

“Hey. it's whatever, don't stress about it. You wanna head home now?”

“Yes please”

“Lead the way then”

~

“I really am sorry for dumping all that on you. It wasn't fair of me”

Beomgyu rolled his eyes as he pulled into the driveway of Taehyun's house. There was another car in the driveway for two, and a car parked next to the curb, Beomgyu let his mind wonder how Taehyun’s family could afford three cars, if they were planning on getting one for Taehyun. He wondered if maybe it was normal to have that many cars, if maybe he just had hand me down cars because there were so many of them. They lived with their entire family tree basically, and they only had two cars for the family, his brothers both had their own at this point, and his parents still owned his, but other than the three of them, they had a van and an suv and it was stressful to say the least.   
“If you keep apologizing I’m gonna lose it, it's really not a problem Taehyun”

“But I-”

“Bzzt! Zip it, I don't want to hear it dude. Just drop it, if youre so concerned about it, you can make it up to me next time we hang out and I can rant about my fucking home life, but right now I am tired and I need to get home before I cause an accident”

Taehyun's mouth closes instantly. He nods hurriedly, grabbing his things and shuffling out of the car. He avoids Beomgyu’s eyes for a bit as he steps out of the car, until Beomgyu clicks his tongue at him.

“Was fun hanging out with you princess, maybe we can do it again some time”

Taehyuns face flushes deep red and he looks away again, nodding, before closing the door and scurrying into his house. He waves slightly after opening the door before dashing in. Beomgyu smiles, he's cute, he really is. He took a deep breath before driving home.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> angsttttt yes yes have some beomgyus family being rough, and some good hyung jin time. again, beomgyu has adhd, he knows where his train of thought is, even if it doesnt quite make sense.

“Where were you?”

“With friends”

“What friends?”

“Hyuka, Yeonjun, Soobin, and Hyukas friend Taehyun”

“How's this Taehyun like” 

Beomgyu glares at his father, who he forgot to inform of his outing. He hated how his father would follow him and question him and lecture him for this, when Hobi would do the same and get praised, but that's always how it is. He was putting his backpack in his cubby, putting things away where they belonged, cleaning up after his family's mess, as his father watched him like a hawk, watching for the slightest mistake. He was so tired of this.

“You know you'll have to keep things clean when you and your brothers move out. I better not get called from Hoseok telling me you're not cleaning up after yourself. We raised you better than that”

He refrained from sighing. Once he finishes tidying he’ll be able to go maybe do his homework. Or maybe not. He might play a game instead, steal his brother's controller and system and let out some steam. Except then his mother walked in and disrupted his thoughts.

“Oh Beommie, are you making dinner tonight?”

That's a trick question. The answer was no, Hoseok was supposed to make dinner tonight, he swore he would after bailing the last few times. But it was always something with him.

“I thought Hobi was”

“Oh he got stuck late for dance practice, he won't be home till much later, oh won't you help us out Beommie? Please?”

He restrained his desperate desire to scream. He nodded instead. 

“Of course eomma”

At least if he cooked his dad would step off his case. He never touched the kitchen. Whatever. He'd make dinner and then go do his homework, he needed at least a little time before his brothers came home, their work always slowed the wifi so badly it was nearly impossible to do anything. But it's fine he'd make uh, fried rice, that's something everyone liked, yeah.

~

It wasn't done before his brothers got home. They came in, grabbed a bowl of dinner then hid in their rooms. Since he still shared a room with Kook, he sighed, grabbing his laptop; yet another hand me down, his headphones, and his chargers, stuffed them in his backpack, and went to leave. His granddad stopped him, very similar to his father, and questioned him.

“Where are you going?”

“A cafe”

“Why? Its 8 pm”

“I have to get faster internet to do my schoolwork”

“When are you coming back”

“When I’m done”

He left before he could be dissuaded. Starts his car and drives to the cafe near the college. He grabbed his bag, and walked in, smiling when he sees Hyuka’s older brother Jin at the counter. Jin treated him far more like a brother than his brothers did, he appreciates him greatly. Jin gets to making his drink before he even has to order, it's pretty routine at this point. Beomgyu usually stuck around til midnight when Jin closes, it was easy that way, a reminder, a habit. Every once in a while Jin would try to get him to open up about why he came so often, but the answer stayed the same, free wifi. Either way, Beomgyu got a coffee and a quiet place with fast internet to do his homework, and Jin had someone to pass the quiet hours with. It worked pretty well.

“You seem more stressed than usual”

And Beomgyu wasn't going to open up, he had planned on dodging the attempts to see him clearer like normal but the words tumbled out of his mouth.

“Hoseok’s an idiot who has made me cover him on dinner duty three times in a row. If I missed a single day I'd get skinned but he gets enthusiastic cheers because he's a successful college student. Whatever, I just. I just wanted to get my schoolwork done before the two of them leeched all the internet speed because I'm exhausted but I guess they had other plans”

Jin nods solemnly, he's been on the receiving end of Hoseok's bad timing before. He loves his friend, but he couldn't argue.

“Why don't you just rest? You shouldn't be driving if you're tired”

“I have to get this homework done, it's due tomorrow”

Jin thought as he finally handed Beomgyu his drink.

“What if I drive you home?”

“Then I’ll be stranded from school”

“Well, what if you stayed the night at my place? I don't have an early class tomorrow, and I can drive you and Hyuka back here to your car, so you'd be saving me a trip dropping him off”

Beomgyu looked at him, staring. It wasn't that the deal was bad, it was that he'd absolutely have to deal with his parents' wrath.

“You've met Taehyun?”

“Hmm? Oh yeah! His brother and I are very close!”

“What do you think of him?”

“He works too hard, he doesn't take the time for himself that he needs, always doing something more. He needs to relax”

“Hm. ok, I’ll go with you”

“Oh! Good good, that makes me much less worried. Go ahead and start working, get your work done before you pass out”

“Mmm. thank you Jin hyung”

“It's no problem kiddo”

Jin ruffles Beomgyu’s hair before he goes to set up to work, and Beomgyu feels so incredibly comforted. He wonders how Jin ever became friends with Hobi when Jin is simply the best, and Hobi is so… absent.

~

By the time that Beomgyu’s finished with his homework, something that really should’ve only taken him an hour, Jin is already about to close up shop, just tidying things before changing out of the apron and nametag and into a huge space patterned hoodie and a purple choker adorning his neck with stars dangling from it. He holds another coffee out to Beomgyu, who is struggling to keep his eyes open, and Jin only feels more secure in his decision. He takes his own coffee, sips it idly as Beomgyu struggles to pack up his things.

“And you were going to drive home tsk”

“Yeah I uh, I guess that wouldn't have been a good idea”

Jin leads the two of them out to his car, watching Beomgyu carefully. When Beomgyu buckles up, he starts talking.

“What happened today that made you so tired? You're usually quite the night owl”

“Spirit day. And then I met Taehyun and. He's incredible. He's so opinionated and loud mouthed, he's everything my parents would hate but he's also everything they expect me to be, top of my class, in extracurriculars, likable. He swears a lot. I didn't expect that. Hobi would skin me if I swore like that”

“Hobi is a hypocrite, he swears far more than he'd like you to believe, he just wants better for you”

“I don't think he gives a shit that I exist. He definitely acts like it. I think he just sees me as his annoying little brother”

“He loves you. He does kiddo, I promise, he talks about you all the time, he's so proud of you”

“Yeah whatever. He sure has a good way of showing it”

Jin sighs softly, seeing Beomgyu close off, face illuminated from his phone screen as he stops talking. He knows, knows well, that those reassurances made Beomgyu shut down, but it hurt sometimes, because he also knows that he's right; Hobi adores his little brother, has never meant to hurt him, but he was oh so oblivious, and he didn't see just how much he did. It didn't help that Jin had promised ages ago not to tell Hobi of what Beomgyu confided in him. He knew he could fix it if he could just tell him, but he also knew the two needed to talk it out and Jin interfering would make it worse. So he held back from meddling. Simply listened as Beomgyu’s breaths softened.

When they made it, Beomgyu was asleep. Jin smiled softly at the younger, gathered both their things carefully before lifting Beomgyu up. He carried the sleeping boy in, surprising Taehyung, who was curled up on the sofa playing something. He jumped up, holding out his arms, taking Beomgyu from Jin as he set their stuff down, silently questioning where they were going to put him. Jin nodded softly before going to grab pillows and blankets, gesturing for Taehyung to just lay him down on the couch. The two settled him, pulling off his shoes, before turning off the lights and retiring to their rooms.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> more family angst, but this time, hobi is there to prove that he actually cares about gyu. more taegyu bonding.

When Beomgyu woke up, he panicked for a moment, he wasn't at home, was he kidnapped? What happened? Then he smelled pancakes and relaxed, it was Jin’s place, he was fine. He sat up, yawning and rubbing his eyes. Hyuka was there beaming when his eyes opened. His alarm went off right after. He switched it off hurriedly.

“You're awake! We made pancakes!”

“Jin hyung made pancakes, we stayed away so the house didn't burn down”

“And hot cocoa!”

Beomgyu smiled at Hyuka and Taehyung, and Jin who was still busy making food. Beomgyu was grateful that the KimKai household was always so warm and welcoming. He was going to get up when his phone started ringing, he glared at Hobis' name on the screen.

“Yes hi”

“Where were you??? Dad was worried sick about you all night, I had to stop him from sending a search party after you! He said you were supposed to come home”

“I said I would come home when I was done. It was late and Jin hyung didn't want me driving home, I stayed at his place”

“Why were you at the cafe?”

“I had homework”

“You couldn't do it at home?”

“No, you and Kook drain the wifi, I'm never able to do homework when you guys are home”

“Why didn't you do it before we got home?”

“Because you bailed on dinner duty. Sorry I can't juggle my essay and cook at the same time”

“Oh. I-”

“Yeah whatever. Jin hyung made breakfast and I have to get ready and take Hyuka to school, I gotta go. Bye”

“Wait-”

Beomgyu hung up and pocketed his phone. He stood and entered the kitchen, smiling and laughing with them, not noticing the worried glances shot over his head. The four of them had breakfast, and Jin drove Beomgyu and Hyuka to the cafe so Beomgyu could take them to school. Beomgyu didn't think much of it until he got home.

~

“And you thought you could just disappear and not face any consequences young man?”

Beomgyu was seated at the kitchen table, burning holes into his hands placed on his lap. His parents were blowing up at him, and he really should have expected this. He faintly heard the door opening, two sets of footsteps sounded and he knew it was about to be even worse.

“I can't believe you, Kook would have never done this!”

He heard the footsteps halt. He was so tired. He wanted to bite back, Kook doesn't have friends, Kook doesn't leave the house other than for school, Kook doesn't have a life and isn't expected to. But he bites his tongue, curling his hands into fists, nails digging into his palms, willing himself not to cry.

“And the way you spoke to your brother is unacceptable. He deserves an apology for having to deal with your nasty attitude! He's right here, you better apologize and mean it”

“Sorry Hobi…”

“Sorry, your brother isn't a mouse. Speak up and look at him!”

Beomgyu gritted his teeth, lifting his head to look at his brother, who was shocked, standing, watching in horror at what was happening. Beomgyu wondered if Hobi ever got this treatment. Not for as long as He's been alive that's for sure.

“I’m sorry Hobi hyung”

“It's… it's fine, not a big deal. Why are you guys making this a big deal? He was being safe, isn't that good?”

“He should've told someone, anyone, beforehand. And he shouldn't have left in the first place”

“He had to do homework. Me and Kook kill the bandwidth with our own homework, he was being responsible”

Their parents faltered at that. It's not new information, but they acted like it was, because Hobi was the one saying it. Beomgyu couldn't help the bitter feeling bubbling inside him that they listened to his brother. He was grateful nonetheless.

“Well he still spoke rudely to you and that's unacceptable”

“I deserved it, I left him with chores that weren’t his responsibility, I would've done the same thing”

Beomgyu didn’t disagree, though he wanted to point out that if he had done what Hobi had, he would be grounded for a month. It had always been that way. He still stayed quiet, not wanting to upset Hobi while he was defending him.

“I suppose. Fine then, you're off the hook this time Beomgyu”

Beomgyu nodded, standing, bowing slightly before rushing into his room. He was so tired, he wanted to sleep for a year. He gratefully sprawled out on his bed, not bothering to change out of his clothes.he groans when the door opens again. He ignored his brother as he came in, putting down his stuff. He heard his brother intake air, like he was going to say something, before just sighing.

“You should go change. You've been wearing those clothes for 2 days”

“I’ll change later”

“If you put it off you won't”

“If you lecture me on it I will wear this same outfit for the rest of the week”

Kook doesn't respond. Beomgyu grabs a teddy bear that stays on his bed, bright pink with a red bowtie and cuddles it close, wishing he was at Hyuka’s house again instead of his own.

The week sped by after that, the spirit week ended with an announcement for the theme of homecoming being announced, Alice in Wonderland, typical for the kids in stuco. He wanted to laugh, maybe he would go all out in a mad hatter outfit, maybe just go in a Cheshire Cat onesie. Who knew, he had another month and a half to decide. Taehyun texted him after school, apologizing immediately, for getting his number from Hyuka, and asked to hang out. Who was he to refuse.

~

“How do you feel about uh, LGBT stuff?”

Beomgyu was driving again. He wasn't tired today, so he decided that he and Taehyun would go on a longer adventure today. He turned slightly to look at Taehyun after his question, the younger was fidgeting, anxious. He wondered how he handled being student councils vice president when he was always so nervous.

“I dunno. Love is love and all that, I don't think it really matters either way, none of my business. Hyuka’s uh, aroace I think he said, and Soobin’s gay, and theyre my friends so like. Who gives a damn”

“Oh”

“Why do you ask?”

“I dunno. I uh, you don't really seem to spend time with girls, I was sorta just wondering...”

Beomgyu looked at him again with a smirk.

“Meh, I'm a bit of a loner, I have my friends, I don't usually go out of my way to make new ones. Hyuka and Yeonjun like doing that, but my parents are way stricter so it's not like I'd have the time to hang out with them”

“You hang out with Yeonjun, Soobin, and Hyuka though?”

“They’re exceptions. Their older brothers are friends with mine, my parents have known them as long as I have”

“Oh. but, but you're hanging out with me?”

“Meh. you're fun to be around. Hyuka knows you, and he talks about you a lot, there's not as much to worry about”

“Oh, ok. Uh, do you like cats?”

“Pfft, yeah. Prefer dogs, but cats are cute too”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok have some gay shit lmao. after the last time break its current if you cant tell.

“Please Beommie! I actually can't go alone I will never live it down”

Soobin was pleading with Beomgyu. Beomgyu wasn't having it. Soobin had already been begging him to attend events with him for moral support since their freshman year, but he was stuco president now, had a reputation. Beomgyu knew well that if Soobin didnt have a date he’d lose a lot of respect from his peers, which was dumb, who decided that? So Beomgyu sighed.

“Why don't you ask someone else out? Like someone who you might actually like and end up dating? Someone who isn't super not into you like that?”

“Why do you say that like you know such a person?”

“Because I do and he's one of my best friends”

“I'M NOT GOING TO ASK YEONJUN ARE YOU C R A Z Y???”

“Ah see I didn't even have to tell you, I knew you liked him”

“I absolutely do n o t like Choi Yeonjun, he is a menace and makes my life difficult”

“You painted little foxes on his nails yesterday”

“IRRELEVANT”

“Hey, if you go with him, and you two start dating, then you can go to prom and actually enjoy it instead of just working”

“Why are you like this, why are you even talking about this like it's an option?”

“Because I know you and it is. C’mon, what's the worst that could happen?”

“He says no, hates me, and forces you to abandon me”

“Soobin what drugs are you on and why aren't you sharing?”

“IM BEING SERIOUS OKAY!!! You guys have known each other way longer than you've known me! And I wouldn't blame you wanting to keep that relationship”

“Soobin what kind of asshole do you think Yeonjun is??? You're my friend, if Yeonjun was such a bitch that he wanted me to stop being your friend because you asked him to HoCo, I’d slap him and tell his brother to do the same”

Soobin stared at him, wide eyed in panic. Beomgyu stared right back. Soobin deflates.

“You really think I should?”

“Yes. he likes you, I know he does. Just ask him out, two birds one stone”

“Hhhhhhh ok. Are you going with anybody then?”

“Not unless some girl asks me tomorrow”

“You should follow your own advice and ask someone who you might actually like”

“I might. Who knows”

“You should ask Taehyun”

“What?”

“You heard me”

“I'm not gay dude, I don't like Taehyun like that”

“Mhm. Sure”

~

When the day came, Soobin and Yeonjun were attached at the hip. Beomgyu was right, the two were both heads over heels for each other. Yeonjun had been lucky to have his brother helping him with his Cheshire Cat themed outfit, he was wearing a purple suit, with a black shirt and a pink tie, as well as little pink clip on cat ears and yellow contacts. He looked amazing with Soobin in a blue suit on his arm. Soobin was dressed as the White Rabbit, and it suited him. He didn't have ears like Yeonjun, but he had accessories that made it clear, little clock hand earrings and a silver pocket watch with pale foundation to finish the look.

Hyuka was stunning, Beomgyu thought it was a good thing Hyuka was aromantic, he could tell that otherwise the younger with such a big heart would get his heart broken countless times, and Beomgyu didn't want to deal with blood on his hands. Kai was wearing a dress, one that had long white lace sleeves, and a gorgeous snowflake pattern throughout. It went down past his knees, and was fluffy and bouncy like him. He looked amazing. Beomgyu however stuck out like a sore thumb, not that he minded. He wore an outfit that he thought looked nearly identical to the mad hatters suit. He didn't have the hat, but he didn't mind. He had dyed his hair a ginger color, not quite as bright as the hatter, but he thought it did the trick, the curled orange hair looked good, regardless of his outfit.

They were still waiting for Taehyun. Beomgyu, Hyuka, and Yeonjun had volunteered (read; been forced with puppy dog eyes) to help Soobin and Taehyun set up, but Taehyun was running late. Not that it was too big of a deal, there was still plenty of time, but Beomgyu wasn't prepared for what he would look like when he showed up.

Taehyun was… ethereal. He wore a dress, a white bodice that hugged him perfectly with round fluffy sleeves that looked like clouds, that then turned into a baby blue skirt that reached his ankles, it was wavy and had a trail of blue roses going down it. He had a light blue choker with a white rose off center, and a little hat, a replica of the hatters. He had a rabbit's foot necklace that matched the choker as well, and his makeup, god his makeup. He hadn't done too much, just enough to amaze Beomgyu. He had done a simple blush, and soft blue eyeshadow, but under one eye was an ace of hearts playing card painted delicately there, under the other was a pocket watch, and he had little purple whiskers on his cheeks. Beomgyu was starstruck. Taehyun rushed in, stumbling a little, hiking up his dress so it didn't drag or trip him. Beomgyu half hoped he would, just so he could catch him. He looked like he was made of glass, delicate, fragile, but oh so gorgeous, and Beomgyu found himself staring, more than even when they first met, staring at the younger and wanting to pull him close, to protect him, even though he knew by now that Taehyun was far from defenseless. He could protect himself just fine, but something in Beomgyu screamed for him to keep him caged in his arms, to never let anyone see him, no one deserved to see Taehyun like this, so… unbelievably perfect. And wow he had never looked at another person who could ever compare to Taehyun on a normal day, but seeing him like this started to make him think.

“I'm so sorry you guys, my brother was helping me do my makeup and it took longer than I expected”

Taehyun spoke with his hands, he always did, it was adorable in Beomgyu’s opinion. But when he spoke, Beomgyu got to see his nails, most of them matched the blue of his skirt, but one nail on each hand was painted black and white like a chess board. Beomgyu’s stare shifted between Taehyun’s hands and his face. Beomgyu couldn't look away.  
“Oh Tyunnie hyung you look amazing!!! It's no problem, we still have plenty of time”

“Yeah Tyun, don't worry about it. Lets just get started hm?”

Taehyun smiles at Hyukas comment, and nods at Soobin. The three file in first, Yeonjun holding the door, shutting it before Beomgyu comes back to his senses. He looks at Yeonjun, who has completed his Cheshire outfit with the smile on his face. He leans against the door, arms crossed, looking at Beomgyu.

“So you're het huh?”

“Wh- what do you mean?”

“I mean the way you just stared at Taehyun like he was an oasis and you were stranded in the desert didn't look very heterosexual Gyu”

“I don't know what you're talking about”

“You know it's ok right? To have a crush?”

“Yeah of course I do, but I don't have a crush on Taehyun. He looks nice, you can't act like I'm crazy, he's stunning! So does Hyuka and I definitely don't have a crush on him!”

“You didn't look at Hyuka like that Beomgyu. You looked at him like you forgot the rest of the world existed. But fine, you don't want to acknowledge that, whatever. I imagine they need help in there, and I miss my Soobinnie already”

“Ew”

~

The dance had started. Soobin and Taehyun were trying to be everywhere at once, they were wearing themselves thin, barely getting to enjoy the dance. Eventually, Yeonjun demanded Soobin dance with him, and after that the two were too occupied kissing for Soobin to remember he was doing other things. 

Taehyun then, was left in charge, and Beomgyu saw as he anxiously flew from place to place. He also saw, even before it happened, that Taehyun was falling. He rushed through people, desperate to save the younger from crashing to the ground, he was far too radiant to fall, Beomgyu thought. So he was there. There when Taehyun misstepped, tripping over his dress and his feet, and there ready to catch him.

Taehyun gasped and it was so soft, you wouldn't hear it if you weren't right there. He gasped as he fell, eyes closing in anticipation of the cold floor and the sting through his bones, but he never felt that. His eyes opened when instead he felt warm arms circling his waist. Opened to Beomgyu, his face soft and kind. Beomgyus smile was all that Taehyun could see, and it made him smile back. 

Beomgyu helped him to his feet again. And Taehyun’s cheeks flushed, as he looked away again, it was almost a habit at this point. They stayed there for a moment before Beomgyu spoke up.

“Taehyun, you look stunning”

~~~

“YOU’VE LIKED ME THIS WHOLE TIME AND YOU NEVER SAID ANYTHING???”

Beomgyu laughed. Taehyun was in his arms, curled up in his lap, but he stared at him with fury strong in his eyes. Beomgyu simply pulled the other close again, placing a soft peck on Taehyun’s lips, abating some of it.

“Can you blame me? If I've told you once, I’ve told you a hundred times, you're absolutely stunning princess”

Taehyun looked away. Blushed bright red, just like he always did. And Beomgyu never thought he could be so fond of someone, but Taehyun exists, and nothing could have ever prepared him for the most perfect person in the world to be in his lap, loving him as much as he does. He could never be thankful enough that he was gifted this.

“You're so cheesy hyung”

“You love it”

Taehyun looks at him, thoughts going through his head quickly, before leaning in to steal a long, loving kiss from his boyfriend. He smiled at the dazed look on Beomgyu’s face.

“No. but I love you, so I suppose I’ll deal with it”


End file.
